What to do and avoid when working out with colleagues

I hold my ground for as long as possible. She's got to be near to the end of her lunch hour by now - surely her sandwiches are calling. At dangerous risk to my balance, I again glance sideways at the adjoining treadmill to check that my neighbour hasn't surreptitiously upped the game and increased her speed. She catches me looking and the awkward truth dawns - she's being raced, unwittingly, by a colleague. In the office gym. At stake is not just a question of superior fitness levels. I want to win in revenge for that sarcastic comment she made in a meeting last week. The fact that she is paid more than me will cease to matter as long as I finish this session ahead of her, proving that I am more determined, more willing to go to extremes, more steely-eyed than she is - if only on the running machine.

We finish our runs with sweaty smiles and congratulations, of course, displaying no hint of the blatant rivalry that has followed us from boardroom to gym.

When Russian President Vladimir Putin holds fitness sessions with his associates, he has the confidence to be more obvious about the competition involved. In pictures this week taken by the Russian state news agency, Putin is photographed at his summer residence in Sochi, working out with the Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev. Dressed in grey tracksuit bottoms and tight fitting T-shirts, Russia's leaders are pictured rattling out pull-ups, lifting weights and working through stretches. In one video of the scene, Putin can even be seen conspicuously pausing his lifting machine to move a lever further down the weight stack, showing off just how heavy a load he can bear.